The Flames of Guilt
by Li the Twilight Knight
Summary: Since people liked my songfics about Zack and Cloud, here's one for the third SOLDIER in the group: Sephiroth! .........I hate the title.........The other songfics had a better title........


Author's Note 

Li: Hi, again! Since people liked my songfics about Cloud and Zack, and a good friend asked me to do more, here's one about Sephiroth. 

Roy: Li thinks it isn't as good as the others, but I disagree. 

Li: Yeah, but he's my muse. He's supposed to be supportive. Anyway, this is dedicated to my friend Rainbow Aeris, who has nicely reviewed all my other FFVII stuff. 

Roy: Li does not own FFVII or the song "Gift of Flesh" by Def Leppard 

Li: (on phone) What do you mean I can't own FFVII! Not fair! You are evil, SquareEnix! 

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Humans. Insignificant specks on Gaia's surface. They betrayed the Cetra so long ago. While his mother and the other Cetra fought to protect Gaia from the Calamity from the Sky, the humans had hidden in terror. That was the reason they survived. The only reason. But then he was born. He was the one destined to rule this planet. The last of the once-great Cetra. It was his birthright.

_I am all destiny, a trade, a grain of sand._

_I am the lesson to be learned._

Sephiroth stalked through the streets of Nibelheim. The former General was unrecognizable. There was an air of deadliness about him that no one in Shin-ra's army had ever seen, for good reason. His eyes glowed a poisonous Mako-green. Any people in his way were cut down unmercifully by his Masamune. They didn't deserve to live, anyway.

_I take the throat of innocence and leave decay._

_I stain the way for all to see._

He moved through Nibelheim with an air of purpose. He was going to see his mother, and no one was going to stop him. One person tried to escape. They were dead in a split second. He left the bloody corpses behind him. He had more important things to attend to. "I'm coming, Mother."

_No fear, no voice, no reason_

_In God no guiding light._

He could hear Jenova's voice in his head, urging him to hurry. Suddenly, in the back of his mind, he heard laughter. Two voices. A memory.

_Come on, Spike, it can't be that bad. Right, Seph?_

_But, I don't want to be back in my hometown. Not till I'm a SOLDIER..._

He felt a flicker of guilt. This was the hometown of one of the only people he considered a friend. Angrily, Sephiroth shoved the memory away. It didn't matter anymore. All that mattered now was Mother. He pulled out a Fire 3 materia and cast the spell, not looking behind him.

_When all the guilt that's in your head,_

_turns it's back and plays for dead,_

_you scorch the earth and torch the sky,_

_conscience low with head held high._

Sephiroth watched Nibelheim burn, feeling no remorse. He turned his attention to the Mako reactor on Mount Nibel. That's where his mother was. He moved towards the mountain, killing anyone who got in his way. The blade of the Masamune was slick with blood when he reached the slope. Soon, he'd meet his mother, and the world would be rightfully his.

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Sephiroth stood at Northern Crater, thinking about the pitiful group called AVALANCHE. The pathetic fools thought that they could stop him. He laughed, searching with his mind for Cloud Strife, leader of the ragtag bunch. They shared a connection through Mother's cells, Sephiroth knew. He noted them underwater in the sea between the continents, fighting the Emerald WEAPON. Pathetic. They could never hope to defeat him.

_Indulge and multiply and sacrifice,_

_As lack of breath chokes underground._

He looked up out of the crater, seeing Meteor looming above them. Like the Calamity from the Sky so long ago, he had summoned it to deal a fatal wound to the planet. When Gaia used the Lifestream to try and heal the damage, he would be there. He would absorb the Lifestream and become like a god!

_Divulge, degenerate, the darker side,_

_From windows watch the screaming sky._

He heard his mother's voice in his head. She told him that once Cloud and his friends were out of the way, there would be no one left to oppose him. He could rule the planet like he was always meant to. Sephiroth nodded. If and when Cloud and his friends showed up, he would dispose of them without hesitation.

_No fear, no voice, no reason_

_In God no guiding light._

He stared at the blonde swordsman in front of him. Cloud was breathing heavily, watching him through exhausted blue eyes that glowed faintly with Mako. Once again, Sephiroth felt a flash of something he hadn't felt since Nibelheim. Guilt. Guilt for hurting this person he had once considered his friend. But, like in Nibelheim, he quickly pushed the emotion away. He raised the Masamune, rejoining the fight with his old friend, his old enemy, as Meteor hung in the sky above them like a beacon of doom.

_When all the guilt that's in your head,_

_turns it's back and plays for dead,_

_you scorch the earth and torch the sky,_

_conscience low with head held high._

Sephiroth felt the Ultima Weapon cut through him, and heard Jenova scream in rage in his head. He had been beaten, once again, by Cloud Strife. He wasn't a god, he was a flesh and blood human. He wasn't even so sure he was a Cetra anymore. All he knew was that in the end, his guilt finally dissipated. But the Meteor was still coming, and Jenova laughed in his head. But Sephiroth wouldn't be there for the end. He was going into the Lifesteam, to join his old friend, Zack.

_From all the truth comes all the shame,_

_the curse of flesh just takes it's aim,_

_On hallowed ground and tortured sky,_

_walk in fear with spirits high._

Cloud and his friends stared into the sky as the Lifestream and Holy together destroyed Meteor. The resulting shockwave wrecked Midgar, knocking down buildings and all the plates.

"So in the end, Aeri saved us!" Yuffie cheered.

"Yes." Cloud said quietly. "Aerith gave her life for all of ours. We should honor that forever."

"It'll take a while to rebuild Midgar." Tifa pointed out.

"Who wants to?" yelled Barrett. "That hellhole was a... hellhole! Why not just build a new city? A better one?"

"You do that, Barrett." Tifa sighed. She looked at Cloud. "What's wrong?"

Cloud smiled sadly. "Sephiroth wasn't all evil. As he died, in his eyes... I saw regret."

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Li: I still can't write endings. Damn. 

Roy: I think they'll still like it. It's about _Sephiroth_ after all! 

Li: Yeah... Review, please! Onegai! 


End file.
